Do you know what the most spoken language in the world is? According to Ethnologue, which provides annual statistics on “the living languages of the world,” English is considered the number one language, as it is used by 1.4 billion native and non-native speakers as of 2023. When looking only at the number of native speakers, Chinese is obviously distinguished as the top language, with 1.3 billion people in almost 40 countries using Chinese as their mother tongue. Another official language in our country, French, ranks as the fifth most spoken language, followed by Hindi and Spanish as the third and fourth, respectively.

Speaking of another Chinese statistic, the current population of China is estimated at 1,425,351,158, equivalent to around 18% of the total world population, according to Worldometers.info. Sometimes people debate whether China would be more powerful than the United States. As far as I know, the US has long been considered the most powerful nation in the world. The Us Dollar is perceived as the international primary currency, and the country boasts a strong economy, advanced technologies, modern military capabilities, and extensive diplomatic alliances. However, from a different perspective, China could be potentially become the most influential country in the future since it has various global influences. Many products are made in China. With its advantage of having a larger workforce, China is “the world’s largest manufacturing economy and exporter of goods” (source: Wikipedia), along with having the world’s largest army.

In my homeland, South Korea, the birth rate was exceptionally high in my parents’ and grandparents’ generations. My mother is the fifth oldest child among her eight siblings, and my wife is the youngest of eight. Seven or eight children used to be a normal number of children in households in those days. However, in our generation, around two or three children is common. In the last sixty years, the fertility rate in South Korea has significantly decreased from 7 or 8 births per woman to 0.7 or 0.8. If the declining birthrate continues, it could have damaging effects in many areas of society. The Korean government encourages couples to have more children now by providing benefits for raising future kids. The lower birth rate is not only a critical issue in my homeland but also in our country, Canada. Sixty years ago, there was approximately four children per woman, and today the fertility rate has dropped to 1.3 per woman. The current birthrate may be influenced by negative worldwide pandemic effects.

The decrease in population can also impact various institutions and organization, including churches, in our society. A report on the membership of The Presbyterian Church in Canada reveals that both baptisms and professions of faith in our denomination peaked in 1958 when church attendance was high. However, since then, Presbyterians have experienced a significant decline in Sunday school involvement and active participation in worship. For instance, in 1964, the PCC had around 204,000 members, and my estimation of the recent membership would be around 71,000. This represents about one-third of the Presbyterian church’s size sixty years ago. I believe that most mainline churches in Canada find themselves in a similar situation.

When we examine the Bible, the words “number and fruit” are repeated many times. In the creation of Adam and Eve, God commanded them to “be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth…” (Genesis 1:26-28). Being fruitful is not only a command but also a blessing. Children are considered one of the greatest gifts from the Lord. After God’s command and blessing, He graciously promised the provision of fruit for them. Let me read the following verse to you. God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food” (Genesis 1:29). When my wife and I were about to get married, some older people encouraged us to have many kids. They also told us that children would bring their own food when they were born. At that time, I did not understand what they meant. Now I can interpret what they were saying through the Word of God that I have just shared with you. God is the provider of things, especially for parents, that we would need for our children. If I were given another opportunity to plan how many kids to have, I would have had more than three with the agreement of my wife!

In our text for today, Jesus teaches us, as His disciples, a critical aspect of bearing much fruit in our faith journey. He uses an illustration of a vine and its branches in His lesson. In those days, Jesus’ audience would be familiar with this kind of image since farming or planting was common in their agricultural society. He assures us of divine fruits from being connected to Him, the Vine, as the true source of life, by saying: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5). As the branches abide in the vine deeply, Jesus wants us, His followers, to have a close relationship with Him. At the same time, Jesus wants us to be aware of the possible consequences of being disconnected from Him by saying: “If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned” (John 15:6). This morning, I want us to reflect on this Gospel text as well as today’s Epistle and explore how to produce much spiritual harvest in our daily lives.

First, we need to cultivate an intimate relationship with Jesus. He said, “Remain in me, as I also remain in you” (John 15:4). The words “remain” or “abide” are mentioned 8 times in our Gospel passage. Jesus emphasizes the vital importance to His disciples of staying connected with Him. In our Epistle for this morning, Paul also advises his audience to “walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16) and to “keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). Interestingly, throughout the entire chapters of Galatians, the word “walk” is repeated more than 30 times. Why did Paul use the phrase “walk by the Spirit” instead of something like “run the race in the Spirit” or “fight the battle in the Spirit”? Walking serves as a metaphor for communication or fellowship. While running or battling, it can be challenging to have meaningful fellowship with one another. The beauty of the phrase “walk by the Spirit” lies in the idea of ongoing communication.

Let us think about the following question: “What does it mean for us to abide in Christ?” Certainly, remaining in Jesus involves spending time in the Word of God and in prayer. Abiding in Christ also means allowing Him to speak to us and listening to His voice during our spiritual devotions. It has been said that “listening is one great gift we can give to people we love.” We all desire to be listened to in a conversation. When we listen to others, we express our respect to them inwardly, “I value your thoughts and opinions. You are important to me.” Failure to do this may indirectly indicate, “You don’t matter to me.” One way we express love is through active listening.

The same principle applies to our relationship with God. Remaining in Jesus is not merely staying with Him in spirit but also communicating with Him. Have we ever paused amidst our busy schedules, asked God, “Do You have anything to say to me right now?” and listened to Him? As we step into this new year, it is time for us to grow, mature, and bear abundant divine fruit by walking with the Holy Spirit. Throughout this journey, the Holy Spirit, known as “The Wonderful Counsellor,” will provide us with wisdom, encouragement, guidance, and direction. Remember, this sacred activity is not a one time or one-day event. We need to keep in step with the Spirit. The Holy Spirit desires continued communication with us. God’s love for us is continuous, and Jesus Christ wants us to continuously become more and more like Him.

Secondly, we need to prune the impurities in our spiritual hearts. Jesus said, “He (My father) cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (John 15:2). Here, Jesus highlights to the disciples the importance of removing useless buds and discolored leaves from the branches. These unnecessary portions must be cut away because they consume the source of energy. The same principle applies as we keep in step with the Spirit. During our faith journey, various elements or temptations within and around us always seek to draw spiritual strength away. They may take away our daily quiet time with the Lord. As spiritual gardeners or farmers, we need to remove them to produce fruit. Pruning is essential for us to grow into mature believers in Christ. Allowing things like useless branches in our walk with the Spirit may put us in spiritual danger.

Pruning begins with a personal self-examination of our lives through the spiritual mirror, the Word of God. When we identify thoughts, sights, sounds, or readings that are contrary to God’s will, we must turn away from these negative influences in our daily lives. Someone wisely said, “We cannot turn to God unless we turn away from sin.” We need to surrender our bad habits, emotional hurts, and spiritual hang-ups to Lord. Turning away from the path of sin and turning to Jesus enables Him to cleanse us and fill our hearts with His power and wisdom.

Did we notice the universal application of this pruning ministry in this scripture? Jesus stated that it needed to be done for “every branch.” In other words, no one is exempt from repenting of sins and cleansing impure hearts through the blood of Jesus because we were and are all sinners before God. Many times, turning away from sins can be very challenging on our own. We must humbly ask God for His mercy, help, and grace. When King David acknowledged his shortcomings and repented, he earnestly asked God to “create in him a pure heart and renew a steadfast spirit within him” afterward (Psalm 51:10). Like King David, we need God’s cleansing strength in our daily lives to become more sanctified and fully recover the image of Christ in our hearts. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8). Can we imagine how blessed we are if we see the face of God and resemble His characteristics every day? So, once again, we need to pray to God: “My Lord, make a new heart in me. Create it out of Your Pureness!”

Thirdly, we need Jesus’ help to bear plentiful fruit and glorify God. Jesus said, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (John 15: 8). Is the production of godly fruit the evidence of being Christ’s followers? We can find the answer to this question in our Epistle reading for today. The Apostle Paul introduces two different groups of results, “the acts of the flesh” and “the fruit of the Spirit.” Under each category, Paul lists various by-products based on our pursuits in the faith journey. Some bible scholars divide the works of the flesh into the next four sub-portions: immoral pleasure, unbelief, broken relationships, and self-destruction. They also distinguish “the fruit of the spirit” into the three sub-parts: out attitudes toward God – “love, joy and peace,” our approaches to others – “forbearance, kindness, and goodness,” and our anticipations with ourselves – “faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” The two different outcomes can be produced by all the same people that is us, Christ’s disciples. If we live in accordance with the Spirit, we will bear these nine divine fruits (Romans 8:5). At the same time, if we live according to the flesh, we will produce the opposite fruit (Romans 8:5).

The author of today’s Epistle, the Apostle Paul, initially attempted to bear those sacred fruits through his own willpower. He also desired to be the person God intended him to be, but due to the sinful nature in his inner being, he cried out, “What a wretched man I am?” (Romans 7:24). Later, after encountering the risen Lord, Paul came to realize that spiritual crops could be produced when he was governed the Spirit. That is why Paul emphasized that the source of the fruit was the Spirit, not his religious background or personal effort. Consider a beautiful garden we look after around our homes. Although we water the plants, pull out weeds, and fertilize the land, we are aware that we don’t make them grow. All the things we do are to ensure that everything in the garden is suitable for the flowers to grow. We believe that God is the one cultivating and bearing the fruits of the plants. This natural principle can apply to harvesting the fruit of the Spirit in our faith journey. As the Master Gardener, God Himself makes the production for us. Simultaneously, as stewards, we are responsible for preparing proper environments for our spiritual hearts by turning away from our sinful desires, pursuing spiritual longings, and walking by the Spirit.

Recently, I have come to understand the importance of having godly desires toward the True Vine, Jesus Christ, in my heart. The fruits we produce may reflect what we long for and who we are before the Lord spiritually. The divine outcomes we harvest in our spiritual journey matter to God. Are we bearing fruit for His glory today? Can we choose joy in times of challenges? How are we doing regarding the fruits of the Holy Spirit these days? Many, including myself, may find it challenging to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit, thinking it can be only reserved for those with strong faith. Once again, we need to remember that the branch itself does not bear the fruit. The Vine provides the branches with all the abilities to make fruit. The quality and quantity of the fruit are not our responsibility. Our primary duty is to remain in Christ. Jesus did not ask us to yield fruit but to abide in Him. If we continuously walk in the Holy Spirit, examining ourselves through the lens of the Word of God, repenting of our sins before Christ, we can expect to produce fruit in our hearts. The spirit of the Triune Lord will bring forth each kind of fruit through us that glorifies to God.

Now, some of us may wonder and ask, “Why does bearing spiritual fruit matter to me?” It may seem that those in the world are free to do whatever they want. So one more question we need to ask ourselves is, “Why should I be concerned with Jesus’ teaching?” Once again, let us listen to what the Apostle Paul said this morning: “I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:21). With respect, he addresses the consequences of the acts of the flesh. This warning is not the first time he has conveyed it to his audience. On various occasions, he had already stated that wrongdoers or the unrighteous would not inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10 & Ephesians 5:5). Therefore, he encourages them to continue working out their salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). Whether we admit it or not, as sinners, we all have fleshly desires and are occasionally tempted to dwell in our sinful nature. This morning, Paul urges us to “keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25) instead of “gratifying the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). God desires each one of us to enter His Kingdom.

I am reminded of the story of Charles Spurgeon’s conversion…

In conclusion, Jesus is the True Vine, and we, as His followers, are the branches. God desires us to turn to Him and fully abide in His amazing love for us this morning. Let us reflect on Jesus, who loved so much that He sacrificed His precious life on the cross. Each day, let us prepare ourselves by setting aside time to talk with and listen to our Heavenly Father. Through the Word of God, let us prune and purify ourselves. Waling faithfully with the Holy Spirit, let us receive His guidance and direction in our daily lives. As we engage in these divine activities, may the Triune Lord bless not only our individual faith journeys but also our united team ministry, producing abundant sacred fruit from the True Vine, both today and in the coming days! Amen.

*In this sermon I have incorporated some thoughts from various sermons based on John 15:1-8 and Galatians 5:13-26.